Young Padres Arms Blossom On Farm
SAN DIEGO—Several prospects age 20 or younger had pitched well through the first two months of 2016 at low Class A Fort Wayne.
The organization is pleased with how 66-year-old pitching coach Burt Hooton is bringing along a slew of hard throwers in his fourth season with the TinCaps.
Hooton doesn’t teach the knuckle-curveball that he popularized during a 15-year big league career, but “he’s got a great way with young pitchers” and is “a great teacher,” assistant general manager Josh Stein said.
Righthander Austin Smith, the Padres top pick last year (second round) out of high school in Lake Worth, Fla., sat at 95 mph in the fourth and final inning of a one-run performance in May. He went 0-3, 4.45 through nine appearances with 24 strikeouts and 18 walks in 30 innings.
Perhaps the best prospect in the Fort Wayne rotation was 19-year-old lefthander Logan Allen, who recorded a 1.91 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings through nine appearances.
The Padres acquired the 6-foot-3 Allen, a Bradenton, Fla., prep selected by the Red Sox in the eighth round last year, and three other prospects in the Craig Kimbrel trade last November.
Allen is pitching at 90-93 mph.
“He’s got an above-average changeup, an above-average curveball, a good fastball, and he’s got some deception in his delivery,” Stein said. “He’s very athletic. It’s a good combination of skills.”
Righthander Enyel de los Santos, whom the Padres acquired from the Mariners in the Joaquin Benoit trade last November, pitches in the low 90s and sported a 0.89 WHIP through nine appearances. Seattle signed the 6-foot-3 de los Santos out of the Dominican Republic in 2014.
Stein said “power fastballs” are a weapon for all of the aforementioned.
FATHER FIGURES
• The Padres removed Rule 5 corner outfielder Jabari Blash from the 40-man roster after they purchased his rights from the Mariners in May. The 26-year-old cleared waivers—and Seattle opted not to buy Blash back for $25,000—allowing San Diego to outright him to Triple-A El Paso.
• El Paso right fielder Hunter Renfroe hit .313/.339/.570 with nine home runs through 43 games and led the Pacific Coast League with 26 extra-base hits.
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